Vale Kerry Briggs

It is with great sadness that we announce that long time PMBA member Kerry Briggs passed away on Wednesday 22 August.

Most people will be familiar with Kerry as the co-presenter of Oscillate Wildly on Saturdays 5-7pm.

Kerry was a fundamental part of Three D Radio and 5MMM prior for more than 33 years and it is difficult to list all of the incredible contribution she made towards making the station what it is today.

Long time close friend and Oscillate Wildly co-presenter Ian recalls some of the highlights of Kerry’s time with the PMBA.

“I met Kerry the very first week I started at Triple M at the end of 1986. I had been listening to her for some time before that and was delighted to meet the face behind the voice!

“My understanding is that she started off as part of a news program called One O’clock Stop.

“She co-presented Women’s’ Magazine with her friend Pier DuPlessis for some time. Women’s’ Magazine was a mix of music, information and interviews about women’s issues. It later became Radio for the Majority, until its demise in the late 90s.

“Kerry also co-presented two Friday drive programs, Rockzine (with Ken Grady) and its successor, Know Your Product (with Paul Champion), from the mid 80s through to the early to mid 90s. Both programs were high-profile music magazine shows (in the days before we had Drive programs 5 days a week) and included interviews with local, interstate & overseas bands each week.

“At the same time, Kerry presented general music programs including Play, Don’t Worry (mid 80s) and the perennial Lawnmower Music (late 80s to mid 90s).

“She also contributed interviews to Women On the Line, part of the CBAA’s National Programming Service, which at the time was distributed on cassette to community stations across the country, and worked with the likes of Nicky Page (who started at Triple M and later moved to 5UV/ Radio Adelaide) and Deb Welch (former General Manager of Radio Adelaide).

“After a break from about 1994 while her children were growing up, she came back and started co-presenting Oscillate Wildly with me in 1999.

“Apart from her on-air activities, Kerry was very active in the running of the station, including being a member of BOTA (Broadcast Operations and Training) in the mid 80s, then its successors – the Operations Sub Committee in the late 80s and the Programming Committee in the early 90s.

“Kerry was also a member of the Management Committee/Board for much of the time from around 1986 through to about 1994 and then again in 2014-16. She was Chair of the PMBA in the early 90s and convener of VAT from 2014-16.”

Kerry was an excellent interviewer, announcer, trainer and above all an excellent person with a wicked sense of humour.

On behalf of the PMBA Board and members, our deepest thoughts and condolences go to Kerry’s family and friends.

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Reader's opinions

It’s true, I’m proud to say that I worked on One O’clock Stop with Kerry. Right from the start she was a skilled and warm presenter. And she immediately got what community radio is about and made a huge contribution in this state. Always impressive, dedicated and determined to make the best of her life. I am sad to have her leave too soon.

Fantastic tribute to Kerry’s many talents, as well as a wonderful trip down memory lane. I’d like to add that Kerry was an enthusiastic member of the “Three -D Band”, a thrown-togther group of Three D announcer/musos, formed with an original intent of training others in live-to-air mixing, but also an excuse to have some fun. And yes, we had a huge amount of fun, and no small dose of hilarity when things went wrong – I feel sorry for those arvo/evening announcers who had to put up with our loud and enthusiastic cover versions every Friday. Kerry had a great voice, and her version of “My Pal” was legend!

I was working as the Women’s Radio Training Officer at 5MMM when Kerry rang up in response to an appeal for women who wanted to be trained and become involved in the radio station. I recall that I was getting frustrated that we weren’t getting many responses or inquiries to our not to be missed opportunity for training and on-air opportunities, so when Kerry phoned I was both relieved and keen to make sure that her interest was reciprocated. I think she came in the next day and as the posts above show she quickly became a stalwart member of the community. Her commitment to the station and the concept of community was immediate and unwavering. She was intelligent, compassionate and very funny. What a loss for her beloved family, and the community radio family that she cared so deeply about. Vale, Kerry.

Nice sentiments folks, well done Michael and Ian…. somehow i have drifted into a RadioHead mega session, still a bit stunned to be honest, y’know?? Kerry, much like most 3d folk was seriously passionate about music and the Aussie/Adelaide Scene, always looking for new & old music and remaining true to her heroes, she was very sharp, quick and funny, yeah, up for a bit of fun, but always with the best interests of the station at heart. Have been pondering The Triple M Victor Venture of late, organised by Kerry, where we rather recklessly i guess, hung out overnight on Granite Island….. waiting for the wee penguins to come home……heh heh will see if this doo hickey will let me post a photo of the 3d Band….. peace and best wishes to all of Kerry’s family and friends Had